Setting up ‘safe-to-fail’ on-farm trials

Toolbox index

• Getting started with a regenerative approach to farming

  • Knowing where to start

    • Identifying goals and resources
    • Identifying your limiting factors
    • Setting up 'safe-to-fail' trials

  • About regenerative agriculture

    • What is regenerative agriculture?
    • What are the principles of regenerative agriculture
    • Regenerative agriculture certifications

• Getting to know soil health

  • Soil health

    • What is soil health?
    • How to assess your soil health
    • How to improve your soil health

  • Biological nutrient cycling

    • What is biological nutrient cycling?
    • How can I improve my soil's biological nutrient cycling

• Managing your water cycle

  • What's affecting rainfall infiltration and retention?
  • Diagnose your infiltration or retention opportunity
  • Improve your rainfall infiltration and retention
  • Barriers to improving infiltration and soil water retention

• Farmer experience

  • Diverse forage crops – farmer experience and examples
  • Diverse pastures – farmer experience and examples

• Exploring diverse crops / pastures

  • What are diverse crops or pastures (and how do I use them?)

    • What are diverse cover crops?
    • What are diverse forage crops?
    • What are diverse pastures?

  • Selecting, establishing and managing diverse crops and pastures

    • Selecting diverse crop / pasture species
    • Establishing diverse crops / pastures
    • Managing diverse crops / pastures
    • Potential risks associated with diverse crops / pastures

  • Farmer experience

    • Diverse forage crops – farmer experience and examples
    • Diverse pastures – farmer experience and examples

• Regenerative grazing management

  • What is regenerative grazing management?
  • Regenerative grazing principles
  • Implementing regenerative grazing
  • Setting yourself up for regenerative grazing success

Integrating ‘safe-to-fail’ trials / experiments is a powerful way to support successful farm system transitions.

‘Safe-to-fail’ means scaling trials to fit our appetite for risk - from a few square metres to half the farm! Trials can be simple or complicated, replicated or stand-alone, short or long term etc.

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Factors to consider before starting on-farm trials

Concerns and questions that might arise when thinking about trying something new could be;

• How much will it cost?

• What if it goes wrong?

• Wow will I know if it worked?

We have designed a simple template below to help you think everything through.

Download the safe-to-fail trials template

• Safe-to-fail trials TEMPLATE (pdf)

• Safe-to-fail trials TEMPLATE (xlsx)

Image of safe-to-fail trials template

“Integrating ‘safe-to-fail’ trials/experiments is a powerful way to support successful farm system transitions.”

Examples of on-farm trials

Webinar: Innovative UK farmer Tim Parton shares the trials and experiments that have informed the development of his current farm system

Case study video of the Holdaway family’s trials with cover crops and biocontrols on the Marlborough vineyard (see full case study)

Things to think about when carrying out a ‘safe-to-fail’ trial

• Do it once, do it right (or not at all)”

• Identify people to both hold you accountable and share your results with

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In this article

• Factors to consider before starting on-farm trials

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